Potential energy wealth beneath the East China Sea's Senkaku Islands places them at the center of a tense territorial dispute between China and its neighbors.

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A team of Japanese surveyors prepares to depart for the Senkaku Islands, where oil and natural gas prospects loom large in a dispute with China. Below, a map shows the Senkaku and two other potentially energy-rich island chains that are part of a tug of war in the region.